Guide column and tool frame assembly



March 31, 1970 w. HOLZEL GUIDE COLUMN AND TOOL FRAME ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 24, 1968 INVENTOR Sam. I

United States Patent 3,503,638 GUIDE COLUMN AND TOOL FRAME ASSEMBLY Willy Hiilzel. Calwerstrasse 3, Wildberg, Germany Filed Sept. 24, 1968, Ser. No. 762,011 Int. Cl. BZSg 3/28 US. Cl. 287--20.3 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tool frame has a bore which receives a conical foot portion of a guide column. Said bore has on one side of said frame an enlarged portion, which defines a shoulder and receives a retaining plate. A conical expanding sleeve surrounds said foot portion in said bore and has an end face confronting said retaining plate. Said sleeve is tapered oppositely to said foot portion. A tension screw is threaded into said sleeve and extends through and bears on said retaining plate and bears on the side thereof remote from said adjacent end face of said sleeve. A collar is carried by said column and engages said frame on the side thereof which is opposite to said enlarged portion. The retaining plate is provided on the side thereof which faces said adjacent end face of said sleeve with projecting means which engage said adjacent end face of said sleeve.

This invention relates to means for the detachable fixation of a slightly conical foot portion of a guide column in the frame of a cutting and stamping tool, which means comprise an interposed, oppositely tapered, expanding sleeve, a tension screw and a retaining plate, which is received by a recess in the frame and is engaged by one end face of the sleeve.

The conical fixing means ensure that the guide column is clamped in the conical seat under axial tension and is rendered immovable relative to the cylindrical bore in the frame owing to the radial expansion of the expanding sleeve, whereas said bore need not be machined to such close tolerances as are required in the case of a forcefitted cylinder.

When the guide column is forced into such expanding sleeve, a satisfactory location of the guide column as to height and angular position is not ensured and the expanding sleeve may be deformed. Hence, the absolutely perpendicular arrangement of a column inserted in the frame relative to the surface of the frame is no longer ensured. This is aggravated when the column is repeatedly removed.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate the inaccuracies which still arise with the known means for fixing guide columns in the frame of cutting and stamping tools and thus to eliminate the disadvantages encountered in the use of such tools.

In accordance with the invention, this is accomplished in that the foot portion of the column comprises a stop collar and the retaining plate is provided on one side with an annular head which is engageable with the adjacent end face of the sleeve and on the other side with adjustable screws which protrude against the adjacent end face of the sleeve.

This arrangement greatly facilitates the correct fitting of the guide column and ensures an exactly perpendicular arrangement. The movement of the column and the expanding sleeve relative to each other enables an extremely pliant interfitting of the elements which are to be force-fitted so that the fixing operation involves only a minimum stress on the mating surfaces and enables a positioning of the elements with the required accuracy. The collar formed on the guide column limits the tightening movement of the guide column by contacting the sur- 3,503,638 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 face of the base frame under pressure. When a column is fixed as suggested, there is no need for an impact or pressure action from above. The means provided according to the invention for the fixation of guide columns are particularly suitable for compound and sequential, cutting tools of extremely high quality, such as are used particularly in the manufacture of electric motors and optical equipment where an extremely high quality is required.

The means provided according to the invention for the fixation of a guide column will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the guide column as it is fixed and FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the fixed guide column of FIG. 1.

The base frame 2 is formed with a cylindrical bore 3 for use in securing the guide column 1. An expanding sleeve 4, which consists of hardened and ground steel and is slit on one side is inserted into the bore 3. The sleeve 4 has a slightly conical inside surface 5. The conical foot portion 6 of the column 1 is inserted into the sleeve 4. A collar 7 having a properly selected diameter is mounted on the column 1 above the surface of the base frame 2. The base frame 2 is provided in its underside with a recess 8 providing the bore with an enlarged portion, which is adapted to receive a round retaining plate 9. The plate 9' is provided on one side with an annular bead 10, which is approximately equal in diameter to the lower end face 12 of the expanding sleepe 4. The plate 9 is rotatably mounted on a screw 11, which is threaded into the conical foot portion 6 of the column 1. The expanding sleeve 4 has a rounded lower end face 12 which confronts the annular bead 10. The column 1 is secured in the bore 3 of the base frame 2 in that the screw 11 received by the conical foot portion 6 is turned to the right so that the rounded end face 12 of the expanding sleeve 4 and the annular bead 10 of the plate 9 abut. As the rotation of the screw 11 is continued, the conical foot portion 6 is moved in one direction and the expanding sleeve 4 is moved in the other direction, the two parts thus being moved in opposite directions so that all surfaces which are involved assume in the bore 3 a force fit in a sensitive and pliant manner. The interfitting of all mating surfaces is continued until the collar 7 strikes the top surface of the base frame 2, whereby the enforced interfitting of said parts is limited. The flat engaging surface of the collar 7 assists in locating the column 1 to extend as exactly as possible at right angles to the bore 3 of the base frame on all sides.

In order to prevent an undesired displacement of the expanding sleeve 4 when the guide column 1 has been secured, the plate 9 is inserted into the recess 8 in an inverted position, shown in FIG. 2, and screw-connected to the foot portion 6. A displacement of the expanding sleeve 4 is prevented by at least three headless screws 20, which are screwed to engage the rounded end face 12 of the expanding sleeve 4. The upper end face of the sleeve 4 is recessed at 18 to obtain a lock ring 17 in the bore 13.

The means proposed according to the invention for the fixation of the guide column may also be used with top frames of tools, differently from the embodiment which has been described by way of example.

What is claimed is:

1. A guide column and tool frame assembly, which comprises a guide column having a conical foot portion, a tool frame having a bore which deceives said foot portion, a retaining plate which faces said frame at one end of said bore, a conical expanding sleeve surrounding said foot portion in said bore and having an end face confronting said retaining plate, said sleeve being tapered oppositely to said foot portion, a tension screw which is threaded into said foot and which extends through said retaining plate and bears on the side thereof remote from said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and a collar carried by said column and engaging said frame on the side thereof which is opposite to said retaining plate, said retaining plate being provided on the side thereof which faces said adjacent end face of said sleeve with projecting means, which engage said adjacent end face of said sleeve, said projecting means comprise a plurality of screws, which are threaded into said retaining plate and spaced around a circle which is concentric with said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and said retaining plate engages said frame at said one end of said bore.

2. A guide column and tool frame assembly, which comprises a guide column having a conical foot portion, a tool frame having a bore which receives said foot portion, a retaining plate which faces said frame at one end of said bore, a conical expanding sleeve surrounding said foot portion in said bore and having an end face confronting said retaining plate, said sleeve being tapered oppositely to said foot portion, a tension screw which is threaded into said foot and which extends through said retaining plate and bears on the side thereof remote from said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and a collar carried by said column and engaging said frame on the side thereof which is opposite to said retaining plate, said retaining plate being provided on the side thereof which faces said adjacent end face of said sleeve with projecting means, which engage said adjacent end face of said sleeve, the bore in the tool frame having an enlarged portion, the said retaining plate is receivable in said enlarged portion in an inverted position and is provided on the other side thereof with projecting means which upon inversion of said plate are engageable with said adjacent end face of said sleeve, said projecting means on one of said sides of said plate comprise an annular bead which is concentric with said adjacent end face of said sleeve, said projecting means on the other of said sides of said plate comprise a plurality of screws, which are threaded into said retaining plate and spaced around a circle which is concentric with said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and said retaining plate is adapted to engage said frame at said one end of said bore when said plurality of screws engage said adjacent end face of said sleeve.

3. A guide column and tool frame assembly, which comprises a guide column having a conical foot portion, a tool frame having a bore which receives said foot portion, a retaining plate which faces said frame at one end of said bore, a conical expanding sleeve surrounding said foot portion in said bore and having an end face confronting said retaining plate, said sleeve being tapered oppositely to said foot portion, a tension screw which is threaded into said foot and which extends through said retaining plate and bears on the side thereof remote from said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and a collar carried by said column and engaging said frame on the side thereof which is opposite to said retaining plate, said retaining plate being provided on the side thereof which faces said adjacent end face of said sleeve with projecting means, which engage said adjacent end face of said sleeve, in which said frame is formed on the side thereof which faces said retaining plate with a recess which receives said retaining plate, said projecting means comprise a plurality of screws, which are threaded into said retaining plate and spaced around a circle which is concentric with said adjacent end face of said sleeve, and said retaining plate engages said frame in said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,139 3/1896 Moore 28720.3 XR 1,653,341 12/1927 Chilton. 2,193,826 3/1940 Mann 28753 XR 2,418,396 4/1947 Carr et al. 28753 2,714,422 8/1955 Janiszewski 28720.3 XR 3,112,941 12/1963 Dutton 28753 3,176,378 4/1965 Janiszewski.

FOREIGN PATENTS 509,460 10/ 1930 Germany. 1,095,064 12/1960 Germany.

875,385 8/1961 Great Britain.

887,088 1/ 1962 Great Britain.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner A. V. KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 28752.06; 308--4 

